Who are the Developers opposing Measure M?

Stanford University (8.4 acres at 500 El Camino Real) and Greenheart Land Company (6.4 acres at 1300 El Camino Real).

They have submitted plans to build nearly amounts to 8 football fields of offices, plus a similar amount of mixed use housing/retail. These projects will get built unless Yes on M passes.

The opposition are trying to distract people from that imminent risk by throwing out scare tactics. These are scare tactics of the developers. They threaten that if we don't give them a sweetheart deal, they will build something even more appalling for the lives of residents. That's what they always say to get their way.

For instance, they want to scare us about big-box retail. First of all, no developer is currently proposing big box retail in downtown Menlo Park. Almost all big box retail are by the freeways, not in downtown, for mass consumer access. Secondly, if a proposal did come forward, the City Council can modify the Downtown Plan to restrict the kind of retail allowed - as many other city councils around the country have done. We certainly expect, in the unlikely event of a proposal for big box retail downtown, that the City Council will do that. Measure M does not take away Council's ability to protect our residential community.

Another scare, about medical offices, is also completely unfounded. Yes on M limits offices - and "offices" includes medical offices.

Residents along with former mayors, planning commissioners, and lawyers identified what few things should be addressed in Measure M. They carefully based its development caps on the exact same amounts of projected development for office space and total non-residential space that were thoroughly vetted through the Specific Plan's environmental and financial analysis reports. In contrast, the projects coming forward in the first 2 years of the 30-year Plan propose to exceed the amount of office by more than 50% while crowding out more than 50,000 SF of retail space. Because the City Council is supporting projects that do not match the community vision, Measure M is the best - and only - remaining way to deal with the imminent risks of the proposed mega-office developments for Menlo Park. The Sierra Club agrees and has endorsed Measure M.